Bhubaneswar: A total of 9,877 children aged between 6 months and 5 years are currently suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in Odisha, Women and Child Development Minister Pravati Parida informed the State Assembly on Saturday.
In response to a question from Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Deputy Chief Minister Parida revealed that Mayurbhanj district has the highest number of SAM cases, with 1,075 affected children.
Minister Parida further elaborated on the nutritional initiatives undertaken by the state government. Under the Supplementary Nutrition Scheme, all children registered at Anganwadi centers aged between 6 months and 6 years receive nutritious meals for 25 days a month, amounting to 300 days annually. Children aged 6 months to 3 years are provided with Chhatua—a nutritious food supplement—eggs, laddus, and dry ration. For children who do not consume eggs, extra laddus are given monthly.
The minister also highlighted the Chief Minister’s ‘Sampoorna Poshan Yojana,’ under which severely acute malnourished children aged 6 months to 5 years without health complications receive therapeutic Chhatua (ATHR) daily for 16 weeks. This includes 100 grams of Chhatua and one egg per day. Children suffering from SAM with health complications are admitted to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs).
Additionally, Severely Underweight (SUW) and Moderately Acute Malnourished (MAM) children are given a special diet comprising gram flour, banana, and eggs for 75 days. To ensure outreach to remote areas, children aged 3 to 6 years who are unable to attend Anganwadi centers receive warm cooked food and water within their villages under the POSHAN program.
